Ex-cop Filomena Buscarsela, recovered from the troubles that dogged her in The Glass Factory
(2000), brings her sharp tongue and sharper mind back to New York City in this slightly confusing tale. Here she's serving an apprenticeship at an established PI firm, but her cases tend to cost the firm nearly as much as she brings in. Always fighting for the underdog, Buscarsela finds herself helping an elderly Hispanic woman whose son is missing, and another woman whose husband, in a moment of insanity, drew a gun on five police officers in a crowd. Breaking a bootlegging ring gets Buscarsela money, but it gets her shot at as well. Her biggest case involves the apparent mugging of Manny Morales, a guy who worked with developmentally disabled children, but was better known as an agitator for tenants' rights. The somewhat tangled thread that ties together Buscarsela's cases is an old factory building that's been occupied by squatters for the past 10 years. This motley if basically responsible group of tenants provides Buscarsela with useful information, sometimes inadvertently, but it's the building itself that holds the most important key. An engaging character with an intimidating determination and at times an over-the-top exuberance, Buscarsela balances a fierce personality with an appealing manner toward her 12-year-old daughter, Antonia, and a wry sense of humor. The jam-packed plot makes for an exciting story, but the disparate sideshows are difficult to keep straight, and Wishnia plays the ethnicity card a little too often. (Nov. 12)
FYI:Wishnia's first novel,
23 Shades of Black, was nominated for an Edgar.
